JP2018001589A - Printing apparatus, printing method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printing apparatus, a printing method, and a program, which facilitate an operation of sticking a plurality of printing pieces so as to have a desired shape.SOLUTION: A printing apparatus includes a printing part to perform printing on a printing target medium, and a control part. Upon setting of sticking conditions under which a plurality of printing pieces P9 and P10 formed from the printing target medium are stuck together by overlapping a part of each of the printing pieces, the control part acquires a shape and a position of a sticking region A where sticking for each of the printing pieces is carried out on the basis of the sticking conditions. The control part is designed to print the acquired sticking region A on a region of the printing target medium which becomes each of the printing pieces.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus, a printing method, and a program for printing on a printing medium.

  Conventionally, a long piece of tape (printed medium) is printed with a desired drawing pattern made up of arbitrary characters, pictures, etc., and then the long piece of tape is cut to obtain a piece of tape (printed piece). A printing apparatus such as a label printer that can easily create the image is used (for example, see Patent Document 1).

JP 2011-197228 A

  By the way, when a plurality of printed pieces each printed with one character are pasted on an object so as to form an arch shape as a whole, a plurality of tape pieces each printed with one character are created and created. It is conceivable that some of the tape pieces are bonded together.

  However, when a plurality of printed pieces are bonded to each other so as to form a desired shape such as an arch shape, it is not possible to align the intervals and angles between the plurality of printed pieces so as to have a desired shape with the user's visual sense. Have difficulty.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a printing apparatus, a printing method, and a program capable of facilitating an operation of bonding a plurality of printed pieces so as to form a desired shape.

  In one aspect, the printing apparatus includes: a printing unit that performs printing on a print medium; and a plurality of print pieces created by the print medium are bonded to each other with a part of each print piece being overlapped with each other. A control unit that acquires a shape and a position of a bonding area where the bonding is performed in each printed piece based on the bonding condition when a condition is set, and the printing unit includes the control The bonded area acquired by the printing unit is printed on the area to be the printed pieces on the printing medium.

  In another aspect, the printing method includes setting a bonding condition in which each of a plurality of printing pieces created by a printing medium on which printing is performed is bonded to a part of each of the printing pieces. The step of acquiring the shape and position of the bonding area where the bonding is performed on each printed piece based on the bonding condition, and the acquired bonding area on the medium to be printed. Printing on a region to be a printed piece.

  In another aspect, the program is a program executed by a computer that controls a printing apparatus, and the printing apparatus includes a printing unit that performs printing on a printing medium, and the computer receives the printing target. When a bonding condition is set in which each of a plurality of printing pieces created by a printing medium is bonded to each other by overlapping a part of each printing piece, the bonding in each printing piece is performed based on the bonding condition. The shape and position of the bonding area where the alignment is performed are acquired, and the acquired bonding area is printed on the area to be the print pieces on the print medium by the printing unit.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to facilitate an operation of bonding a plurality of printed pieces so as to form a desired shape.

1 is a perspective view showing a printing apparatus according to an embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the tape cassette accommodated in the printing apparatus which concerns on embodiment detachably. It is a perspective view which shows the cassette storage part of the printing apparatus which concerns on embodiment. FIG. 3 is a control block diagram of the printing apparatus according to the embodiment. 5 is a flowchart for explaining a printing method according to the embodiment. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the bonding state of the some printing piece in embodiment. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the calculation process in embodiment. It is a figure which shows the some printed piece of the state connected with the release paper in embodiment. It is the elements on larger scale of FIG. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the bonding state of the some printing piece in the modification of embodiment. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the calculation process in the modification of embodiment. It is a figure which shows the some printed piece of the state connected with the release paper in the modification of embodiment. It is the elements on larger scale of FIG.

Hereinafter, a printing apparatus, a printing method, and a program according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the tape cassette 30 detachably accommodated in the printing apparatus 1.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the cassette storage unit 19 of the printing apparatus 1.
As shown in FIG. 1, the printing apparatus 1 includes an apparatus housing 2, an input unit 3, a display unit 4, an opening / closing lid 18, and a cassette storage unit 19.

  The printing apparatus 1 prints a printed piece P (P1 to P10: P1 to P10) on which a desired drawing design D (one character in FIG. 9) composed of arbitrary characters, pictures, and the like is printed on a long print medium M. For example, a label printer capable of creating (see FIGS. 6 and 8). In the printing medium M shown in FIG. 2, a base material Ma having an adhesive surface and a peelable release paper Mb covering the adhesive surface are superimposed. The printing medium M is accommodated in a roll shape in the tape cassette 30 in a state where the adhesive surface on the back surface of the base material Ma is covered with the release paper Mb. As a printing apparatus, a printing apparatus that does not require an operation at the input unit 3 or a display at the display unit 4, for example, print data of a desired drawing design to be printed is received from a separate computer. It may be a printing device. As described above, the computer arranged separately from the printing apparatus 1 has, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) as a control unit that calculates (acquires) the shape, position, and the like of the bonding area A shown in FIG. Is provided.

  An input unit 3, a display unit 4, and an opening / closing lid 18 are disposed on the upper surface of the apparatus housing 2. A discharge port 2 a for the printing medium M is formed on the right side surface of the apparatus housing 2. Although not shown, the apparatus housing 2 is provided with a power cord connection terminal, an external device connection terminal, a storage medium insertion port, and the like.

  The input unit 3 includes an input key for inputting a desired drawing pattern made up of characters, pictures, etc., a print key for instructing start of printing, a cursor key for moving the cursor on the display screen of the display unit 4, setting of a print mode, Any or all of various control keys for performing various setting processes are provided. Note that the input key includes a character input key for inputting character data.

  The display unit 4 is, for example, a liquid crystal display panel, and includes an image including characters corresponding to an input from the input unit 3, a selection menu for various settings, a display for notifying the user when an error occurs, and various processes Displays messages about

  The opening / closing lid 18 is disposed above the cassette housing portion 19 so that the cassette housing portion 19 can be opened and closed. The open / close lid 18 is opened when the button 18a is pressed. Further, a window 18b is formed in the opening / closing lid 18 so that the presence or absence of the tape cassette 30 shown in FIG. In the cassette storage unit 19, a tape cassette 30 that stores the print medium M is detachably stored.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the tape cassette 30 includes, in a cassette case 31, a tape core 32 positioned at the roll center of the printing medium M, an ink ribbon supply core 34 positioned at the roll center of the ink ribbon 33, and an ink ribbon. The winding core 35 is accommodated.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the cassette case 30 has a print head insertion portion 36 that has a concave shape that opens on one side surface of the cassette case 31. The ink ribbon 33 is drawn out from the ink ribbon supply core 34 and guided by a guide means (not shown) disposed in the cassette case 30 so as to pass through a position near the side surface of the cassette case 30 in the print head insertion portion 36. The ink ribbon is wound around the winding core 35.

  The print medium M is a paper tape, a resin tape, a magnet tape, or the like in which the release paper Mb is attached to the adhesive surface provided on the back surface opposite to the printing surface of the base material Ma, and is the same as the ink ribbon 33. It has a width. The print medium M is fed out from the tape core 32, guided by the guide means so that the print surface faces the outer surface of the ink ribbon 33 and passes through the print head insertion portion 36, and is provided in the cassette case 30. Don't protrude from the tape outlet.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, the cassette housing part 19 of the apparatus housing 2 is provided with a plurality of cassette receiving parts 20 for supporting the tape cassette 30 at a predetermined position. Further, the cassette housing portion 19 is engaged with the print head 10, the platen roller 21, the tape core engaging shaft 22 that engages with the tape core 32 of the tape cassette 30, and the ink ribbon winding core 35 of the tape cassette 30. An ink ribbon winding drive shaft 23 is provided.

  The cassette receiving portion 20 is provided corresponding to the engaging portions 37 formed at a plurality of corner portions of the cassette case 31. The print medium M and the portion of the ink ribbon 33 exposed in the print head insertion portion 36 are inserted between the print head 10 and the platen roller 21. The tape cassette 30 is in a state in which the tape core 32 and the ink ribbon take-up core 35 are engaged with the tape core engaging shaft 22 and the ink ribbon take-up drive shaft 23, respectively, and each engaging portion 37 is a cassette receiver. The tape cassette storage unit 19 is set at a predetermined position in a state of being engaged with the unit 20.

  The print head 10 shown in FIG. 3 is disposed at a position where it enters the print head insertion portion 36 of the tape cassette 30 and is pressed against the ink ribbon 33 at the start of printing. The platen roller 21 is disposed so as to face the print surface of the print head 10, and the ink ribbon 33 and the print medium M sandwiched between the print head 10 and the print medium 10 are arranged in the longitudinal direction of the print medium M. Are driven intermittently at a constant pitch. The platen roller 21 is driven to rotate intermittently at a constant pitch by a conveying motor 12 which is, for example, a stepping motor shown in FIG. The ink ribbon winding drive shaft 23 is rotationally driven by the transport motor 12 in synchronization with the tape feed of the platen roller 21. Here, the print head 10 and the transport motor 12 are respectively connected via the head drive circuit 9 and the transport motor drive circuit 11 shown in FIG. 4 based on the print data generated by the control unit 5 shown in FIG. Be controlled.

  In the present embodiment, the ink ribbon 33 is a thermal transfer type ink ribbon, and the print head 10 has a predetermined number of dot-like heating elements in the vertical direction, that is, along the width direction of the ink ribbon 33 and the printing medium M. The thermal heads are arranged in a row. The print head 10 includes a heating element corresponding to print data supplied to the print head 10 in the heating element array in accordance with the stop timing of the ink ribbon 33 and the printing medium M that are intermittently fed by the head drive circuit 9. And the ink on the ink ribbon 33 is transferred to the printing medium M. As a result, the print head 10 operates as a head that performs printing on the print medium M line by line by driving the head drive circuit 9 based on the print data generated by the control unit 5. The print head 10 is an example of a printing unit.

  Further, the cassette storage unit 19 has a discharge port 2a for discharging the printed print medium M sent out from the tape cassette 30 as the printing progresses to the outside of the apparatus housing 2, and the created printing. A full cut mechanism 16 and a half cut mechanism 17 for separating the piece from the printing medium M are provided. The full cut mechanism 16 and the half cut mechanism 17 are disposed at the discharge port 2a, and either one is selected and driven by the cutter motor 15 shown in FIG. Here, the cutter motor 15 is controlled via the cutter motor drive circuit 14 based on the print data generated by the control unit 5.

  The full cut mechanism 16 performs a full cut that cuts the base material Ma together with the entire printing medium M shown in FIG. 2, that is, the release paper Mb. When the full-cut mechanism 16 is selected, the created printed piece is discharged as a printed piece with release paper. Further, the half-cut mechanism 17 performs a half-cut on the printing medium M by cutting only the base material Ma while leaving the release paper Mb. When this half-cut mechanism 17 is selected, the printed pieces P (P1 to P10) shown in FIG. 8 cut the release paper Mb by operating the full-cut mechanism 16 after all the printed pieces P have been printed. By doing so, it is cut out as a plurality of printed pieces P connected by the release paper Mb.

  On the other hand, the tape cassette 30 includes a plurality of types having different widths of the printing medium M and the ink ribbon 33. Depending on the size of the printed piece P to be created, the tape cassette 30 having a tape width suitable for the size is provided. It is set in the cassette storage unit 19.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the print head 10 having a print width corresponding to the widest tape width among the various tape widths (arrangement length of the heating elements) is used and set in the cassette storage unit 19. In accordance with the tape width of the tape cassette 30, each heating element in the effective range corresponding to the width of the printing medium M in the heating element array of the print head 10 is driven.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, an uneven portion for identification (not shown) that differs depending on the type of the tape cassette 30 is provided on the surface of the engaging portion 37 provided in the cassette case 31 that engages with the cassette receiving portion 20. A tape width detection switch 24 that detects the shape of the concavo-convex portion of the engaging portion 37 is provided on the cassette receiving portion 20 of the cassette housing portion 19 that is formed. Thereby, the type of the tape cassette 30, that is, the tape width of the printing medium M can be automatically determined, and the effective range of the print head 10 can be set.

FIG. 4 is a control block diagram of the printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 4, the printing apparatus 1 includes an input unit 3, a display unit 4, a control unit 5, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 6, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 7, a display unit drive circuit 8, and a head drive circuit 9. , A print head 10, a conveyance motor drive circuit 11, a conveyance motor 12, a conveyance roller 13, a cutter motor drive circuit 14, a cutter motor 15, a full cut mechanism 16, a half cut mechanism 17, and a tape width detection switch 24.

  The control unit 5 is, for example, a microprocessor, and is read from a key operation signal from the input unit 3 or from a system program stored in advance in the ROM 6, a control program stored in a memory card, or an external device. The control program or the like is automatically started, and the operation of each part of the circuit is controlled using the RAM 7 as a work memory.

  The control unit 5 includes an input unit 3, a ROM 6, a RAM 7, a display unit drive circuit 8 that drives the display unit 4, a head drive circuit 9 that drives the print head 10, and a transport roller 13. A conveyance motor drive circuit 11 for driving the conveyance motor 12 and a cutter motor drive circuit 14 for driving a cutter motor 15 for operating the cutting mechanism 16 are connected.

  The ROM 6 is a program for causing the print head 10 to print a desired drawing design on the printing medium M by the head drive circuit 9, original data and size information such as characters, symbols, and pictograms included in the drawing design to be printed, Stores print fonts and the like. The ROM 6 also functions as a storage medium in which a program that can be read by the control unit 5 is stored.

  The RAM 7 is an input data memory for storing printing information such as characters, symbols, pictograms and their sizes, character spacing, etc. included in a desired drawing pattern to be printed, and the size of the printed matter to be created. Function. The RAM 7 is generated based on the input print information and functions as a print data memory for storing print pattern data (print data) representing a desired drawing design, and is displayed on the display unit 4. It also functions as a display data memory or the like for storing display pattern data representing a desired drawing design. The RAM 7 includes a register, a counter, and the like that temporarily store data necessary for print processing and the like.

  The head drive circuit 9 controls the print head 10 based on the printing pattern data stored in the RAM 7. In response to this control, the print head 10 prints a desired drawing design on the printing medium M by thermal transfer. Note that the print head 10 may perform printing on the printing medium M by another printing method such as an inkjet method.

  The conveyance motor drive circuit 11 controls the conveyance motor 12 by controlling the conveyance motor 12 based on the printing pattern data stored in the RAM 7, and during printing on the printing medium M by the print head 10, The printing medium M is conveyed at a desired speed. The cutter motor drive circuit 14 controls the operations of the full cut mechanism 16 and the half cut mechanism 17 shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the printing method according to the present embodiment.
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a bonding state of a plurality of printed pieces P (P1 to P10) in the present embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a calculation process in the present embodiment.
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a plurality of printed pieces P connected with release paper.
FIG. 9 is a partially enlarged view of FIG.

Each process of the flowchart shown in FIG. 5 is performed by the control unit 5 shown in FIG.
When the user of the printing apparatus 1 desires to attach a plurality of printed pieces P to each other in an arch shape by overlapping a part of each printed piece P as shown in FIG. In the input unit 3 shown in FIG. 1, the printing mode is set to a mode in which a plurality of printed pieces P are pasted in an arch shape. In this embodiment, an example in which one character is printed on each of the plurality of printed pieces P will be described. However, a plurality of characters may be printed on each printed piece P, or a picture or the like. Drawing designs other than the characters may be printed.

  The user inputs a character string, for example, “ABCDEF Corporation” shown in FIGS. 6 and 8 in the input unit 3. The control unit 5 acquires information on the input character string from the input unit 3 (step S1).

  In addition, as a condition for pasting a plurality of printed pieces P to be created in the input unit 3, the user, for example, at an angle formed between the arch radius R, which is the radius of the arch shape, and both ends of the arch shape shown in FIG. 6. A certain arch angle θ is set. For the arch radius R and the arch angle θ, the control unit 5 acquires set information from the input unit 3 (step S2). In the example of FIG. 6, the arch angle θ is 180 degrees, but this angle can be any angle. Note that character size, character font, character spacing, and the like may be further set. When one of the arch radius R and the arch angle θ is set to a predetermined value, only the other needs to be set. Further, when the arch shape (arch radius R or arch angle θ) is determined in advance in a plurality of predetermined types, the condition may be set by the user selecting one of the types. Also, for example, when only one character is input as a character string, when a condition is set such that a plurality of printed pieces P do not overlap each other, only the drawing design D shown in FIG. May be printed or a notification to the user may be performed.

  In addition, in the input unit 3, the user can set each printed piece P at a lower half from an arbitrary position between the tape widths T, for example, the center position of the tape width, as in the bonding area A shown in FIG. 9. It is set whether each printed piece P is bonded or whether each printed piece P is bonded over the entire tape width T as in a bonded region A shown in FIG. 13 (modified example) described later. In addition, when the printed pieces P are pasted in the lower half from the center position of the tape width T as in the pasted area A shown in FIG. 9, when the printed pieces P are pasted as shown in FIG. In addition, a gap is generated between the printed pieces P in the upper half.

  When the conditions for bonding a plurality of printed pieces P are set as described above, the control unit 5 calculates (acquires) the shape and position of the bonding area A shown in FIG. 9 based on the settings. To do. The position of the bonding area A is determined by the length Q of the long side of the guide line G printed on the periphery of the bonding area A in an L-shape for the purpose of bonding, and the guide line G It can be specified by calculating the angle φ formed by the boundary between the long side and the printed piece P (half-cut portion H). In addition, in order to represent the bonding area A, instead of printing the guide line G, printing that fills the entire bonding area A may be performed. Further, when the printing apparatus 1 includes only the full cut mechanism 16 of the above-described full cut mechanism 16 and half cut mechanism 17, the print apparatus 1 may perform full cut for each printed piece P at the boundary portion. Further, when the printing apparatus 1 does not include either the full cut mechanism 16 or the half cut mechanism 17, the print head 10 prints a line that serves as a mark when the user cuts himself / herself with scissors or the like at the boundary portion of the printed piece P. You may make it do.

Here, in the present embodiment, in order to create a printed piece P for each character of the input character string, the control unit 5 determines the number N of printed pieces P, which is the number of characters in the character string, and the set arch. Based on the following formulas (1) and (2) using the angle θ and the tape width T of the printing medium M, a guide line having the same value as the angle formed by two adjacent printed pieces P The angle φ of G and the long side length Q are calculated (step S3). The tape width T can be acquired from, for example, the tape width detection switch 24 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 described above.
φ = θ / (N−1) (1)
Q = T / 2 Formula (2)

  The control unit 5 determines whether or not the angle φ of the guide line G is equal to or greater than a predetermined angle, for example, whether or not the angle φ of the guide line G is equal to or greater than 45 degrees (step S4). When the angle φ is 45 degrees or more (step S4: YES), it is difficult to attach a plurality of printed pieces P to the arch shape, so the display on the display unit 4 shown in FIG. The user is notified (step S5). After notifying this user, the process is repeated again from the above-described character string input process (step S1).

When the angle φ is less than 45 degrees (step S4: NO), the control unit 5 is shown in FIG. 8 in a state of being half-cut and connected with release paper based on the following formulas (3) and (4). A label length L and a length X of each printed piece P are calculated. Note that the length L and the length X are lengths in the longitudinal direction orthogonal to the tape width T.
L = N · 2 (R−0.5T) · sin (φ / 2) (3)
X = L / N Formula (4)

  Note that the radius of an arc passing through both ends of the printed piece P at the center line C representing the center of the tape width shown in FIG. 9 and drawn from the same center as the center of the arch shape is shown in FIG. ′, The radius R ′ is set as shown in FIG. 7 by using an isosceles triangle having the center of the arch shape as a vertex and the upper side of the printed piece P (upper left side in FIG. 7) as the base as shown in FIG. It can be approximated by R-0.5T. Therefore, the length X of the printed piece P (the length of the bottom surface of the isosceles triangle) is set to “2 (R−0.5T) · sin (φ / 2)”, thereby obtaining Expression (3). Note that the label length L shown in FIG. 8 is obtained from the number N of printed pieces P and the length X of the printed pieces P as shown in the above equation (4).

  Next, based on the angle φ and the long side length Q of the guide line G calculated in step S3 described above, the control unit 5 pastes the character (drawing pattern D shown in FIG. 9) on the lower right side in the print data. A guide line G representing the matching area A is added (step S7). The print data to which the guide line G is added in this way may be displayed on the display unit 4 by the control unit 5. In addition, the print density and thickness of the guide line G can be arbitrarily set such that the density is reduced or the thickness is reduced in order to make the guide line G inconspicuous when the print piece P sticks out. May be settable. The process for adding the guide line G (step S7) is repeated except for the last printed piece P10 (step S8). Note that no other print piece is bonded onto the last print piece P10, and therefore no guide line G is added to the last print piece P10.

  Next, the control unit 5 determines whether or not the printed pieces P1 to P9 include a printed piece in which the bonding area A overlaps at least a part of the drawing design D shown in FIG. 9 (step S9). If it is determined that any one of the printed pieces P1 to P9 overlaps (step S9: YES), the user is notified by display on the display unit 4 shown in FIG. 1 or by voice (step S10). ). The determination as to whether or not a part of the drawing design D overlaps with the bonding area A is performed, for example, by taking an area where the drawing design D is printed as a rectangular area of a certain size, for example. It is possible to determine whether or not the region overlaps, or determine whether or not the region where printing is actually performed (the black region in the drawing pattern D in FIG. 9) and the bonding region A overlap. May be. After the notification to the user, when the user sets the change of the character size (or font) in the input unit 3 (step S11: YES), the guide line G is added again (step S7). On the other hand, when the user sets not to change the character size or when a predetermined time has passed without changing (step S11: NO), the process is resumed from the character string input process (step S1). repeat. Alternatively, a printing process (step S12) to be described later may be performed ignoring a state in which a part of the drawing design D and the bonding area A overlap each other. Regarding the change of the character size, the control unit 5 may display the character size on the display unit 4 so that the pasting area A and the drawing design D do not overlap, and prompt the user to change the character size. Good. Alternatively, it may be urged to shift the character position on the printed piece P to the left side in FIG. 9, for example. Further, the control unit 5 may cause the display unit 4 to display the print data whose character size has been changed, together with the pasting area A. Alternatively, the control unit 5 displays at least one value of the arch radius R and the arch angle θ at which the bonding area A and the drawing design D do not overlap with each other on the display unit 4 to set the arch radius R and the arch angle θ. The user may be prompted to change. Further, the control unit 5 may forcibly change the character size. Further, the control unit 5 may shift the position of the character on the printed piece P, for example, to the left side in FIG.

When the control unit 5 determines that there are no printed pieces P1 to P9 in which the bonding area A and a part of the drawing design D overlap (step S9: NO), the control unit 5 shows the print data shown in FIG. The print head 10 is controlled via the head drive circuit 9 to print the drawing pattern D and the guide line G (step S12).
Next, the control unit 5 controls the half-cut mechanism 17 via the cutter motor drive circuit 14 and the cutter motor 15 shown in FIG. 3 in order to half-cut the boundary portion of the printed piece P as shown in FIG. (Step S13). This process is repeated except for the last printed piece P10 (step S14), and the control unit 5 controls the full-cut mechanism 16 for the rear end (right end in FIG. 9) of the last printed piece P10 to separate it. The printing medium M is fully cut together with the paper (step S15).

  By the above processing, as shown in FIG. 8, a plurality of printed pieces P (P1 to P10) in which half-cut portions H are formed at the boundary portions and connected by the release paper can be created. The user peels off each printed piece P from the release paper, and affixes a plurality of printed pieces P in an arch shape to the object as shown in FIG.

In the above description, the example in which each printed piece P is bonded to the lower half from the center position of the tape width as shown in FIG. 6 is described. It is not limited to the center position of the tape width. You may make it stick together in the position which shifted | deviated above or below from the center position of the tape width. In that case, the user inputs the position to be pasted in the input unit 3. Then, the control unit 5 calculates the long side length Q, the label length L, and the length X of each printed piece P in accordance with the input bonding position. Further, as in the modification examples shown in FIGS. 10 to 13, the two adjacent print pieces P may be bonded so that the positions of the upper ends of the opposing sides coincide with each other. In this case, since Q = T / 2 in equation (2) is replaced with Q = T as in equation (6) below, equation (3) is replaced as in equation (7). This equation (7) is similar to the above equation (3) by calculating X = 2R / sin (φ / 2) using the isosceles triangle shown in FIG. 11 as shown in FIG. Can be calculated. In addition, Formula (5) and Formula (8) are the same as the above-mentioned Formula (1) and Formula (4).
φ = θ / (N−1) (5)
Q = T (6)
L = N · 2R · sin (φ / 2) (7)
X = L / N (8)

  In this modification, since the area of the bonding area A shown in FIG. 13 is larger than that of the bonding area A shown in FIG. 9, the length X of the printed piece P is shown in FIGS. 12 and 13. The length L of the label is longer than the length shown in FIGS.

  In the present embodiment described above, the printing apparatus 1 includes a print head 10 that is an example of a printing unit that performs printing on the print medium M, and each of a plurality of print pieces P created by the print medium M. When a bonding condition is set in which a part of a print piece is bonded to each other, the shape and position of the bonding region A where the bonding is performed on each print piece P is calculated (acquired) based on the bonding setting. ), And the print head 10 prints the calculated bonding area A on the area to be each print piece P in the print medium M. For this purpose, the print head 10 prints the guide line G, for example.

  Thereby, since the user of the printing apparatus 1 can perform bonding so that another printed piece P is superimposed on the printed bonding area A, the printed piece P is easily bonded to a desired shape. be able to. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to facilitate the operation of bonding a plurality of printed pieces P so as to form a desired shape.

  In the present embodiment, the above-described bonding condition includes information on at least one of the arch radius R and the arch angle θ when the plurality of printed pieces P are bonded so as to form an arch shape, and is controlled. The unit 5 calculates the shape and position of the bonding region A based on information on at least one of the arch radius θ and the arch angle R. The printing medium M is a long tape extending in one direction, and the control unit 5 further acquires the shape and position of the bonding region A based on the tape width of the tape. By these, the some printed piece P can be bonded together and the some printed piece P can be affixed on an object in an arch shape.

  Moreover, in this Embodiment, the to-be-printed medium M has the base material Ma which has an adhesive surface, and the release paper Mb which can peel the adhesive surface, and the printing apparatus 1 is the base material Ma and release paper. A half cut mechanism 17 that performs a half cut that cuts only the base material Ma of the Mb is further provided, and the half cut mechanism 17 performs a half cut at a boundary portion between the plurality of printed pieces P. Therefore, since a plurality of printed pieces P connected by the release paper Mb can be integrally formed, the operation of bonding the plurality of printed pieces P so as to form a desired shape can be further facilitated.

  In the present embodiment, the drawing design D is a character, and the print head 10 prints one character on each of the plurality of printed pieces P. Therefore, an arbitrary character string can be arranged in a desired shape such as an arch shape by bonding a plurality of printed pieces P together.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the print head 10 further prints the drawing pattern D set by the user on each of the plurality of print pieces P, and the control unit 5 performs printing on any of the plurality of print pieces P. Then, it is determined whether the calculated bonding area A overlaps at least a part of the drawing design D (step S7), and if it is determined that it overlaps, the user is notified (step S10). Therefore, it can be prevented that a part of the drawing design D is invisible by the printed piece P to be bonded.

  In the present embodiment, the control unit 5 determines whether or not the angle θ formed by two adjacent print pieces P among the plurality of print pieces P is equal to or greater than a predetermined angle (step S4). If it is determined that the angle is equal to or greater than the angle, a notification is made to the user (step S5). Therefore, it can be avoided that the plurality of printed pieces P cannot be attached to a desired shape such as an arch shape.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention includes the invention described in the claim, and its equivalent range. The invention described in the scope of claims at the beginning of the filing of the present application will be appended.

[Appendix 1]
A printing section for printing on a print medium;
When a bonding condition is set in which each of a plurality of printing pieces created by the printing medium is bonded to each other by overlapping a part of each printing piece, based on the bonding condition, A controller that acquires the shape and position of a bonding area where the bonding is performed, and
The printing unit prints the bonding area acquired by the control unit on an area to be the print pieces on the printing medium.
A printing apparatus characterized by that.

[Appendix 2]
The bonding condition includes at least one of an arch radius that is a radius of the arch shape and an arch angle that is an angle formed between both ends of the arch shape when the plurality of printed pieces are bonded to form an arch shape. Including information on one side,
The control unit acquires the shape and position of the bonding region based on information on at least one of the arch radius and the arch angle.
The printing apparatus according to Supplementary Note 1, wherein

[Appendix 3]
The printing medium is a long tape extending in one direction,
The control unit further acquires the shape and position of the bonding region based on the tape width of the tape.
The printing apparatus according to Supplementary Note 2, wherein

[Appendix 4]
The print medium includes a base material having an adhesive surface, and a release paper that covers the adhesive surface, and is peelable.
The printing apparatus further includes a half-cut mechanism for performing a half-cut for cutting only the base material of the base material and the release paper,
The half-cut mechanism performs a half-cut of a boundary portion between the printed pieces.
The printing apparatus according to any one of appendices 1 to 3, wherein:

[Appendix 5]
The printing unit further prints a drawing design set by a user on each of the plurality of printed pieces,
The control unit determines, in any one of the plurality of print pieces, whether the calculated bonding region overlaps at least a part of the drawing design set to print on the print piece. When it is determined that they overlap, the user is notified.
The printing apparatus according to any one of appendices 1 to 4, wherein:

[Appendix 6]
The control unit determines whether or not an angle formed by two adjacent print pieces of the plurality of print pieces is equal to or greater than a predetermined angle, and notifies the user when it is determined that the angle is equal to or greater than the predetermined angle. I do,
The printing apparatus according to any one of appendices 1 to 5, characterized in that:

[Appendix 7]
When the setting of a bonding condition is performed in which each of a plurality of printed pieces created by a printing medium to be printed is bonded to each other by overlapping a part of each printed piece, based on the bonding condition, Obtaining the shape and position of a bonding area where the bonding is performed in each printed piece;
Printing the obtained pasting area on the printing medium in the area to be the printed pieces;
A printing method comprising:

[Appendix 8]
A program executed by a computer that controls a printing apparatus,
The printing apparatus includes a printing unit that performs printing on a printing medium;
For the computer
When a bonding condition is set in which each of a plurality of printing pieces created by the printing medium is bonded to each other by overlapping a part of each printing piece, based on the bonding condition, The shape and position of the bonding area where the bonding is performed are acquired,
Printing the pasted area acquired by the printing unit on the area to be the printed pieces on the print medium;
A program characterized by that.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Printing apparatus, 5 ... Control part, 10 ... Print head, 30 ... Tape cassette, A ... Bonding area | region, C ... Center line, D ... Drawing drawing, G: guide line, H: half cut portion, L: label length, M: medium to be printed, P (P1 to P10): printed piece, R: arch radius, T: tape width, X: length of printed piece P, θ: arch angle, φ: angle of guide line G

Claims (8)

A printing section for printing on a print medium;
When a bonding condition is set in which each of a plurality of printing pieces created by the printing medium is bonded to each other by overlapping a part of each printing piece, based on the bonding condition, A controller that acquires the shape and position of a bonding area where the bonding is performed, and
The printing unit prints the bonding area acquired by the control unit on an area to be the print pieces on the printing medium.
A printing apparatus characterized by that. The bonding condition includes at least one of an arch radius that is a radius of the arch shape and an arch angle that is an angle formed between both ends of the arch shape when the plurality of printed pieces are bonded to form an arch shape. Including information on one side,
The control unit acquires the shape and position of the bonding region based on information on at least one of the arch radius and the arch angle.
The printing apparatus according to claim 1. The printing medium is a long tape extending in one direction,
The control unit further acquires the shape and position of the bonding region based on the tape width of the tape.
The printing apparatus according to claim 2. The print medium includes a base material having an adhesive surface, and a release paper that covers the adhesive surface, and is peelable.
The printing apparatus further includes a half-cut mechanism for performing a half-cut for cutting only the base material of the base material and the release paper,
The half-cut mechanism performs a half-cut of a boundary portion between the printed pieces.
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing apparatus is a printer. The printing unit further prints a drawing design set by a user on each of the plurality of printed pieces,
The control unit determines, in any one of the plurality of print pieces, whether the calculated bonding region overlaps at least a part of the drawing design set to print on the print piece. When it is determined that they overlap, the user is notified.
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing apparatus is a printer. The control unit determines whether or not an angle formed by two adjacent print pieces of the plurality of print pieces is equal to or greater than a predetermined angle, and notifies the user when it is determined that the angle is equal to or greater than the predetermined angle. I do,
The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein: When the setting of a bonding condition is performed in which each of a plurality of printed pieces created by a printing medium to be printed is bonded to each other by overlapping a part of each printed piece, based on the bonding condition, Obtaining the shape and position of a bonding area where the bonding is performed in each printed piece;
Printing the obtained pasting area on the printing medium in the area to be the printed pieces;
A printing method comprising: A program executed by a computer that controls a printing apparatus,
The printing apparatus includes a printing unit that performs printing on a printing medium;
For the computer
When a bonding condition is set in which each of a plurality of printing pieces created by the printing medium is bonded to each other by overlapping a part of each printing piece, based on the bonding condition, The shape and position of the bonding area where the bonding is performed are acquired,
Printing the pasted area acquired by the printing unit on the area to be the printed pieces on the print medium;
A program characterized by that.